May
1st -7th, 2012:
The month of May began
in Puerto Galera, Mindoro at language training camp. Peace Corps separated the
language trainings by region so there were nine volunteers who met together in
Puerto to enhance and practice or Tagalog skills. We stayed at a place called
Stairway Foundation. This foundation is owned by a Danish man (I can’t remember
his name) and operated by many other enthusiastic people that work together to
help educate others about Child’s Rights. The foundation has many goals-
primarily to take streets kids from the major cities (like Manila) and bring
them to a safe place where they can interact, explore, learn, grow and
hopefully create a better life for themselves.
Language training was
intense but definitely not as intense as it was during initial training. It was
actually a relief that I could follow a Tagalog lesson for 8 hrs in one day-
guess that is a good sign my Tagalog is improving. I definitely still have a
lot to work on but I like knowing that I am more comfortable speaking Tagalog
to well, anyone really. There are a lot of times where the switch to Tagalog
just comes naturally now. I get request more classroom vocabulary. On a
standard day in the classroom my counterpart and I only speak Tagalog; however,
some basic things are good to store in my memory just in case I need to clarify
something to get the students back on the learning road.
On the third day of
classes we actually took a little adventure as a group. There is a PCV who
lives close to Stairway so we planned to take a hike (seriously) to his site at
the top of the mountain. Along the way we had to speak Tagalog and interact
with the native tribe that occupies the land. The hike was about 1 ½ hours… up
a steep trail! We all looked like we jumped in a pool when we reached the top.
The PCV who lives there, Trevor, is a rock star for making that trek over and
over again. I like a good hike, I actually love a good hike like that but I can
imagine it would be difficult to complete over and over again. The view from
the top was one of the best I’ve seen here so far! The children who were there
were shy at first but then they started to warm up to us, giggle, and run like
crazy as we chased them around the school yard. Karen and I were chasing them
and she was splashing them with water- they loved it! A little surprise water
fight can create so many laughs. Later some of the girls were playing cat’s
cradle; boy was I happy that I remembered some of the moves… I played this game
for hours on end as a child.
We also got to hear the
story of the women who live on the mountain. To make a living, they sell
eggplant and other vegetables in the market and they also weave baskets,
backpacks, earrings, bracelets and more! To make one backpack- the woman said
she worked on it for 4 hours a day for one month! The woman all had such great
dedication to their craft and their final products were all stunning- picture
perfect handicrafts.
Before we hiked back
down the mountain we stopped to see the farm and to eat an afternoon snack. We
had planned to just have coconut as the afternoon snack; however, there was a
little extra something cooking in the oven. A volunteer who works for Stairway
lives at the top of the mountain too and she builds ovens and she is an amazing
break cooker, yes… bread. I don’t think I have ever tasted more scrumptious
bread in my life. If was fresh from the oven too which made every bite that
much more satisfying. Now only if I had some olive oil, sundried tomatoes, and
avocado packed in my backpack.
The hike back down was
less strenuous. During language camp we liked to end our day with a trip to the
beach to watch the sunset, maybe have a beer. After the camp was over, a few of
us decided to stay an extra night in Puerto. Trevor helped us to find an
affordable place to stay. We stayed at a hostel called Badladz… we were pretty
bad, just joking. That morning we had a beer at 9am and hiked down this hidden
pathway to find a double sided beach! It was the perfect place to chat, soak of
the sun, and go for a dip. Later that day we took a boat to go scuba diving….
Ahhhh! We completed a crash course in scuba safety and learned about the gear
and then we were off. The second my air tank hit the water and my body splashed
in after, I felt like a fish. I just wanted to swim away and explore but I had
to follow instructions from the dive master. We had to pass a three skills test
underwater before we could begin our trip under the sea. The trip was grand
from start to finish and we even saw a sea turtle along the way. I did not want
it to end! The days awesomeness did not stop there because that night we had
Mexican food for dinner… like REAL Mexican food with beans and spices and
everything nice. After dinner we also went out for a drink to celebrate Amy’s
Birthday a little early J. Great day to be alive. The next day we
woke up early, went to the beach, ate some REAL pizza at this Italian
restaurant where I had to force myself not to buy sausage and cheese by the
ton, and then we got on a boat to head back to our homes. That’s all folks!
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